The Diary of Jane
by KelseyO
Summary: I wrote this after I saw the first preview for "Fight the Power." The story is loosely based on that episode, but with more to it. Jane centric, multiple perspectives. T for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**I wrote this fanfic after they first started showing the previews for "Fight the Power," and the story is loosely based on that episode. Mine is a tad bit more violent, and there's more involvement with more characters...but I'm trying multiple-perspectives for the first time, so let me know what you think of it.**

The ball was sailing toward Jane. She ran at full speed down the field, glancing back to make sure she was getting under the ball. It was almost there, slicing through the air in a perfect spiral. She reached out and caught the ball in her cradled arms…

And then she was on the ground, and the ball was bouncing away. She rolled onto her back, then winced in pain.

"Jane, you okay?"

She looked up. Derek Haig was standing over her. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Sorry if I hit you hard," he apologized, offering her a hand. She grabbed it and he pulled her up.

She grimaced. Her upper back was killing her. "Dude, I think you killed my back."

He shrugged, and a satisfied smirk slowly formed on his face. "That's football." He jogged off in the direction of the rest of the team and she followed, though she went slower because of the pain.

"Derek, awesome play," the coach was telling him. "The way you lowered your shoulder and got her from behind was perfect. And it was almost painful to watch when you drove her into the ground…"

Coach Sheppard glanced at her. "Uh…good hustle, Jane."

Jane's face burned. It was just like him to act like girls always sucked at sports.

He turned to the rest of the team. "Practice is over for today. Go hit the showers."

_Figures that he would end practice without giving me a chance to redeem myself,_ Jane thought to herself, but followed the other players back into Degrassi.

She jogged until she had caught up with Derek. "So tell me, dude—when did you get so frigging strong?" She playfully squeezed his right biceps.

He grinned. "What are you talking about, I've always been this buff."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Seriously. What's your secret?"

"Well, I do admit that I've been hitting the gym a lot," he said mock casually, flexing his arms.

She arched an eyebrow skeptically. "That's it? Some trips to the gym and you're the Incredible Hulk? I don't think so."

He looked at her for a moment, debating something in his mind, then glanced around them. He grabbed her forearm and pulled her off to the side.

"Okay, I'll let you in on it. See, I know a guy who knows a guy, and he's been able to land me some juice."

She stared at him. "Juice? As in _steroids_?"

"Jeez, keep it down!" he hissed. "What's wrong with having a little boost?"

"Derek, one of those 'little boosts' could really hurt someone!"

He rolled his eyes. "What are you talking about, that's ridiculous."

"Ridiculous, huh? What about when you drove me into the ground back there?"

"Oh come on, that was nothing. You lived, right?"

Jane clenched her teeth. "That's not the _point_!" she snapped, then turned away and began heading toward the girls' locker room. There were hurried footsteps behind her. Derek grabbed her shoulder and turned her toward him.

"You're not going to tell anybody, right?"

Jane ignored him and walked away.

"Jane!" She could hear him calling her name, but she didn't look back as she entered the locker room.

She closed the door behind her, and as she twirled her locker combination, she found she was happy to be the only girl on the team. It was quiet except for the racket from the boys' locker room on the other side of the left wall, but she could relax in peace.

She removed her football equipment little by little and put it in a pile next to her locker. By the time she was done, her shorter hair had come out of her ponytail and was now falling around her face. She debated on fixing it for when she met up with Spinner later, but she decided he wouldn't mind.

Jane approached the wall mirror, turned so her back was to it and slowly rolled her Degrassi Panthers shirt up to her shoulder blades. There was a fresh black and blue stain on her skin, courtesy of Derek's shoulder pads. She flexed her shoulders and winced—the bruise was deep.

She carefully pulled her shirt back down. She returned to her locker and slammed it shut, then turned around—and bumped into Derek.

"Whoa, what the hell are you doing in here?" she demanded, taking a step back.

"You never answered my question." He stood up straight, trying to intimidate her.

"I have to go," she muttered. She tried to step around him, but he shoved her backwards, hard. She hit the locker behind her and cried out in pain when the bruise on her back hit the combination dial.

He leaned in close, and she turned her head to the side.

"I won't tell anyone," she insisted through gritted teeth, gasping as he pressed her harder against the locker.

"Yeah? Why don't I believe you?" He ended his question with a savage punch to her stomach.

She doubled over and he let her fall to the ground. She tried to back away from him as she struggled for breath, but he knocked it out of her again with a hard kick in the ribs. Tears escaped her eyes as she felt something crack.

"You're _not_ going to _ruin_ my _life_." He kicked her at each emphasized word, putting his body weight into it. He paused for a moment, panting a little, then sent one last kick to her face. And then he was gone.

Jane could taste the blood in her mouth, feel it trickling out of her nose. She tried to breathe deeply but she couldn't seem to make her lungs work right. She wanted desperately to get up, to get help, but when she tried to move it made the pain worse.

She had no idea how long she laid there on the floor, blood trickling out of her nose and mouth. She could feel the energy seeping out of her, and soon her eyes drooped closed.

***

Holly J loved being in charge of the Spirit Squad. She could decide which routines they used, who was on the team, and more importantly, schedule practices around her life. Today was an example of that—she had a date tonight, so she made everyone come two hours earlier. Now she would have plenty of time to get ready when she got home.

She reached the gym at the same time as Mia and Anya, who had carpooled. She took satisfaction in the fact that neither looked like they wanted to be there.

Mia saw her first, but waited until the football players, who had just exited the boys' locker room, left the gym. "Holly J, I can't believe you moved practice! My mom had to leave work early so she could watch Isabella."

Holly J rolled her eyes. "You don't have to be on Spirit Squad if it's too inconvenient for you…" she replied, then smirked when Mia glared at her.

"Save it, guys," Anya piped up. "Can we just have practice and get out of here already?"

They exchanged glances and Mia finally shrugged. "Whatever. Let's get changed."

"The freshmen better not be twenty minutes late again," Holly J warned as they entered the locker room. "I'm sick of having to explain things tw—"

She stopped when she bumped into Mia's back. 'What's the holdup, Mama Mia?"

"Call 911." Mia's voice was dead serious.

Holly J walked around her. "What are you talking…"

That was when she saw Jane. "Oh my God." For a split second she could only stare, but she finally found her voice again. "Anya, I need your phone!" She glanced behind her and grabbed it out of Anya's extended hand. Anya's face was pale white, and her eyes were wide.

Mia knelt on the floor next to Jane as Holly J dialed, and only half-listened as she looked at Jane's bruised, bloody face. She put one hand carefully on Jane's shoulder, and her heart skipped a beat when her eyes slowly opened.

"Jane, what happened?" Mia's voice was so quiet, she didn't know if Jane had even heard her. She cleared her throat a little to get rid of the lump that had formed. "Who did this to you?"

Jane shook her head with what little strength she had left. "I—I can't—" She stopped and coughed, then clutched her ribs.

Mia had never seen anyone in so much pain before. She didn't look away from Jane when Holly J joined her.

"There's an ambulance on the way, Jane." This was the first time Holly J had ever shown worry or concern around anyone else, but her reputation was the last thing on her mind right now. And then she realized something.

This was also the first time she'd watched someone suffer and not enjoyed it.

In fact, she hated it.

**I beg of you--please, please, please, please review. What did you like, what did you not like, what about the story worked for you and what didn't? Specifics, guys. I would love you forever... ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, so here's Chapter 2. Thank you to kkuzzz, Ai Ga Hoshii Dake, and fight-the-freakin-power for reviewing Chapter 1; I'm glad you all enjoyed it. (BTW: In the first paragraph, as well as in these first two chapters, I'm trying to imply that Derek got 'roid rage and that's why he totally spazzed out on Jane. You know?)**

Derek changed as fast as he could, his jaw clenched in an attempt to stay calm. His heart was racing, his insides were seething, and he had no idea what was wrong with him. He knew that the conversation he'd just had with Jane should upset him, but not this much.

He abruptly closed his locker and turned to face his teammates. "I'll be right back, you guys," he said, putting his stuff down. He left the boys' locker room and made a U-turn into the girls'.

When he came around the corner he immediately saw Jane. She was rolling her shirt down; he realized she had probably been surveying the damage from practice. He silently approached her and waited until she closed her locker. She turned around and bumped right into him.

He could almost hear the alarms going off in her head as she looked at him. "Whoa, what the hell are you doing in here?"

He moved closer and stood up straight, trying to intimidate her. "You never answered my question."

There was fear and uncertainty in her eyes. "I have to go."

She tried to step around him, and without thinking he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her backwards as hard as he could. She hit the locker behind her and cried out, but then he got even closer. He pressed her against it, adrenaline blocking his ears from her gasps of pain.

"I won't tell anyone," she finally promised him through clenched jaws.

He almost laughed. People would say anything to save their asses. "Yeah? Why don't I believe you?" And with that he hit her in the stomach, then backed off when he felt her going down.

He looked down at her as she wrapped her right arm around her waist and used her left to try and move away from him, all while coughing and gasping for breath. On a sudden impulse he drew his leg back and kicked her hard in the ribs, then pretended not to have heard the sickening crack that came after.

"You're _not_ going to _ruin_ my _life_," he told her, kicking her over and over again as she clutched her ribs. He felt another surge of adrenaline coming on and kicked her in the face. Her body went limp, though he could see that she was still conscious.

He glanced at her for a second longer, then left the locker room without looking back. He went right back into his own locker room to pick up his stuff.

"Derek, we heard some interesting noise next door," Danny commented.

Bruce laughed. "Yeah, what were you guys doing?"

Derek sifted through a couple explanations in his head, then turned to the others and grinned. "I wanted to see if Jane needed any help changing," he answered suggestively. Someone wolf-whistled.

"Come on, dude, tell us what happened!" Danny begged.

Derek wiggled his eyebrows and decided to give them a half-truth. "Let's just say…I got me some action." He got some high-fives and pats on the back, and as he'd hoped, no one questioned further.

"Hey, we should hit The Dot," Danny suggested on their way out. They rolled their eyes when Sav stopped to say hi to Anya, who had just arrived for Spirit Squad practice with Mia and Holly J.

"Dude, let's _go_," Derek finally insisted. He had to get out of there before the cheerleaders went into the locker room.

After much nagging and pleading to get a move-on, using the excuse that he was starving, Derek finally made it to the parking lot. He jumped into Sav's car, Danny in the back, and as they drove away, Derek turned up the volume on the radio so they couldn't hear the siren of an approaching ambulance.

***

Jane opened her eyes. She was in an unfamiliar place, and there were strangers on either side of her clad in EMT uniforms. She glanced out the windows in front of her, then looked around—she was in an ambulance.

She searched for a familiar face and saw that Mia was sitting next to her. They made eye contact for a moment, but then the female paramedic blocked her line of vision.

"Jane, my name is Angela," she announced, shining a tiny flashlight into her eye. "Do you remember what happened?"

Jane inhaled to speak, but her ribs gave her hell for it. She gasped and clutched at the pain, trying to make it stop.

Angela glanced at her partner. "She has at least one broken rib."

He nodded and placed an oxygen mask over her mouth, then pulled the elastic around her head to hold it there. "You've got nothing to worry about, Jane. We'll be at the hospital in less than a minute."

Jane felt pressure on her hand. She looked to her left and saw that Mia was holding it. She felt a surge of gratitude—she and Mia hadn't been the best of friends at Lakehurst even though Jane was Isabella's aunt. Yet there she was, holding Jane's hand in an ambulance, and Jane found herself squeezing back.

Angela spoke to Jane again. "Since you don't have any head trauma and your vitals are stable, we're going to put you under. That way you can sleep through the worst of the pain." She took Jane's arm and rubbed it with something, then stuck an IV into her vein.

As she felt the drugs begin to take over her body, she thought about what had happened in the locker room. _Sleep through the worst of it, huh? I'm pretty sure that part's already over._

***

Derek was stuffing his face with French fries when the phone behind the counter rang.

"Thanks for calling The Dot, this is Spinner speaking," Spinner greeted absentmindedly, wiping off some mugs while he spoke.

Derek watched him on the phone purely for the sake of eavesdropping, though he was only half-paying attention.

Then Spinner froze. "What did you say?"

Derek stopped eating.

"Accident? What kind of accident? Is she…is she okay? What happened?" Spinner listened for a moment. "_Assaulted_? When? Where?" Another pause. "Yeah, I'm on my way." He hung up and dropped the phone and rag on the table. "There's an emergency, I have to go!" he shouted in the direction of the office. A man in a button-down shirt and tie appeared—probably the boss.

"I'll clock you out. Take as long as you need."

Spinner nodded once and bolted out of the café.

Derek looked down at his plate of fries. Suddenly, he wasn't hungry anymore.

**Reviews, please.**

**Did anyone watch the V-Day Degrassi special last night? First of all, Claire should've gone to the dance with KC--one, because he asked her first, and two, because he's just so freaking adorable. Her friend, Connor, was annoying and mopey and wouldn't stop whining. Second, that was so cute how Holly J called Jay and they teamed up to get Spinner and Jane together. And last, but certainly not least--Spinner was _so hot_ during that entire episode!!! His hair, his clothes, his Spinner-ness...I've been in love with him from the moment he got rid of his awful skater-dude hair cut (the one he had during the shooting episode?) So yeah. I had fun watching. :)**

**Wait, one more thing--Johnny and Sav's lil sister? WTF?! She is SO ANNOYING. She bothers me so much, I can't even remember her name. :P**

**REVIEW!!!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sooooo sorry I've taken so long to update this story. I've desperately wanted to, believe me, but this is probably the most complicated story I've written so far and it's absolutely exhausting.**

**I don't know if this is any good, but please let me know what you think.**

Spinner had only cried twice in his life. The first time, he was at the hospital with Paige and Hazel after Jimmy got shot. The second was after he told Jimmy the truth about the shooting.

He was about to make it three.

He was sitting in a chair facing Jane's hospital bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his chin on his fisted hands. He was clenching his jaws so hard it felt like his teeth might shatter. He was thankful that she was sedated, because she didn't have to see him like this.

He racked his brain for answers. Who could have done this? Jane was the coolest person he'd ever met. She was his best friend, his girlfriend…his life. She didn't deserve to have something like this happen to her.

For the millionth time since he'd arrived at the hospital, he stared at her injuries. Though her shirt and blankets were hiding it, two of her left ribs were broken. She had a black eye, a bruise overwhelmed her left cheek, and a fat crimson line curved around her bottom lip.

"How is she doing?"

Spinner glanced up. Mia was standing in the doorway.

"She's, um—" He paused and cleared his throat to try to get rid of the lump that had formed. "She's pretty banged up, but she'll be okay." He spoke quietly, and his voice was trembling.

Mia rounded the bed and pulled up a chair next to Spinner. "How are _you_ doing?"

He just shook his head. "I've been better." He paused. "Thanks for calling me."

She gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand with hers. "No problem." Her eyes went to Jane. "I've seen how you guys look at each other, how happy you both are when you're together." She looked at Spinner again, her eyes serious. "She's lucky to have a guy like you. You really care about her."

He looked away, mildly embarrassed. "Thanks." There was a stretch of silence, and then he met her eyes. "When you…when you found her…did she say who attacked her?"

Mia shook her head. "I asked her, but she wouldn't say."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"When I asked her, all she said was 'I can't.'"

He closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. "That doesn't make any sense." He let out a humorless laugh. "Then again, the fact that this happened to her in the first place doesn't, either."

Mia didn't know what else to say.

"Spinner?"

Both immediately turned their attention to the bed, where Jane's eyes were slowly blinking open.

Spinner leapt out of his seat and bent over her, gently stroking her non-bruised cheek. "I'm here, I'm here." He tried to keep the threatening tears at bay. "How are you feeling?"

Jane closed her eyes briefly. "Like shit."

He laughed weakly.

She shifted in her bed. "How do I look?" When he didn't answer, she gave him a small smile. "Thought so." She cleared her dry throat. "So, what's the verdict?"

Spinner took a deep breath. "Two broken ribs, and a lot of cuts and bruises."

She sighed. "That sounds about right." She waited a beat. "When can I get out of here?"

"Tomorrow afternoon." He glanced at his watch. "Scratch that—_this_ afternoon."

"What time is it?"

"About one in the morning," he replied. "Wait, what about your family? They're probably wondering where the hell you are right now."

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Spin. It's only my mom, who's too busy getting drunk at bars to notice my absence, and my brother, who pretty much lives at his friends' houses."

There was a stretch of silence.

"How did you find out what happened?" Jane suddenly asked, the sedatives making her voice sound tired.

"Mia called me at the Dot," he answered, then realized he had forgotten about the other girl. He glanced around the room, but she was gone.

His gaze automatically went back to Jane, and he thought back to what Mia had said. Why wouldn't Jane say who had attacked her?

"Hey, Babe—" he began softly, covering her hand with his, but he was interrupted by footsteps at the door.

Spinner and Jane both looked up to see Sav and Danny walk in.

"Knock, knock," Sav greeted, both he and Danny giving them warm smiles.

Jane grinned back. "Hey, guys!" Her voice was quiet, but Spinner was glad she at least sounded happy.

"How're you holding up?" Danny asked, approaching the bed.

Jane gave him a small shrug. "I'm alright."

Sav shook his head. "I can't believe this happened."

Spinner let out a small laugh. "That makes four of us."

"Don't you mean five, dude?" Danny asked. He saw Spinner's confused look, then looked behind him before glancing at Sav. "Where's Derek?"

Sav looked around and shrugged. "He was right behind us."

Frowning, Danny ducked outside and returned a few moments later, dragging Derek in with him. "Why are you hanging out there, Dude?" he asked playfully.

Derek shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "I don't like hospitals," he muttered.

But Spinner wasn't paying attention to them—Jane's heart rate monitor had just sped up.

"Jane, you okay?" he asked, leaning closer to her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

She didn't answer at first; her wide eyes were on Derek. She finally looked at him. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Spinner didn't believe her. It sounded like there was a lump in her throat, and her heart beat was still way faster than normal.

"We're gonna head out, guys," Sav announced. "Feel better, Jane!"

She glanced at him and nodded. As soon as the guys left the room the beeping began to slow, until it was finally back to a steady rhythm.

As she closed her eyes again, Spinner replayed the scene in his mind. It seemed like Jane's heart had sped up when Derek had entered the room…but had it beat faster _because_ of Derek?

Spinner tried to push the thought from his mind, but he couldn't shake his gut feeling. Your pulse usually quickened when you were nervous or scared, and the only reason Jane would have to be scared of Derek was if…

Spinner's own heart began beating faster as realization struck him like a train. But it wasn't fear.

It was fury, hatred, and a blazing need for Derek to pay.

***

Jane had no idea what to do.

She knew people were going to ask her what had happened, would want to know who had attacked her, but for some reason she just couldn't say it. She didn't even want to think about it.

She was disgusted with herself. She was Jane Vaughn, the tough-as-nails Lakehurst transfer who kicked ass on the football team and wasn't scared of anything—and yet her she was, lying broken in a hospital bed.

She wasn't strong. She was just a weak little girl who couldn't protect herself against her own classmate.

She was nothing.

**I don't really know Jane as well as I know Darcy and Spinner and such, but I hope I got her voice alright. If you guys have any suggestions on how I can improve the story, please let me know in a review or PM. Thank you for reading! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**I suck, I know. But I've had a shit-ton of stuff going on (just started college, I'm in the process of writing a book with KayLynn911) and I haven't had much time to work on DOJ. All of your reviews have been magnificent and I would love you guys if you kept them coming. I also apologize if this isn't the best chapter in the world--let me know how much it sucks in a review. Thanks :)**

They were just around the corner from Derek's house when Sav's cell phone buzzed. He glanced at the caller ID before flipping it open.

"Hey, An—" He stopped in midsentence. "Whoa, whoa, slow down." He listened, then glanced at the clock in the dashboard. "Yeah, we'll be right there." He closed his phone, tossed it at Danny in the passenger's seat, and made a U-turn in the road.

"Change of plans, guys. That was Anya—Jane's in the hospital."

"Dude!" Danny exclaimed, his eyes widening. "Is she okay?"

Sav shook his head. "I don't know the specifics, but we should go see how she's doing."

Derek sat silently in the backseat, his blood running cold in his veins. He couldn't go to the hospital—what if Jane had told someone what happened? If Spinner found out, Derek would be a dead man. He had to cover his tracks, quick.

He spent the entire ride to the hospital shifting through ways to explain. If Jane told anyone the truth, he'd be screwed, but if for whatever reason she didn't, he'd have a chance. The only thing that made him look suspicious was him going into the locker room with her, but there weren't any witnesses who could prove that she'd been…assaulted…at that exact time.

He shuddered as the word floated around his brain. How did this happen? How could he have attacked his own teammate? But then he remembered—he'd told her about the steroids.

Why the hell did he do that? He should've known that he couldn't trust that secret with anybody. It was her own fault, though, he decided. If she'd just promised not to tell anyone, he wouldn't have had to do it.

He nodded to himself. _It was her own fault_.

***

Danny practically ran to Jane's room once they got on the right floor.

He didn't even think about knocking; all he knew was that Jane was one of his best friends, she was hurt, and he needed to make sure she was okay.

The second he entered the room his eyes automatically did a sweep of her injuries—the bruises on her face, the way her arm was unconsciously cradling her torso—while Sav announced their presence.

"Knock, knock," he greeted, and both Jane and Spinner looked up.

"Hey, guys," Jane replied. Her voice sounded tired, but the warm grin she gave them made Danny smile.

"How're you holding up?" he asked, getting closer to her bed and putting a hand on the side.

She shrugged, but he could tell her injuries were limiting her movements. "I'm alright."

"I can't believe this happened," Sav muttered behind him.

Spinner let out a bitter laugh. "That makes four of us."

Danny looked at him. _Himself, Sav, Derek, Jane, and Spinner… _"Don't you mean five, dude?" Spinner just gave him a confused frown, so Danny looked around, then exchanged glances with Sav. "Where's Derek?"

Sav shrugged, looking mystified. "He was right behind us."

Danny stepped outside the room briefly and saw Derek a little ways down the hall, facing the opposite direction. He grabbed his wrist and pulled him through the doorway.

"Why are you hanging out there, dude?"

Derek stood hunched over, his hands deep in his pockets. "I don't like hospitals," he muttered under his breath.

Danny raised an eyebrow, listening to the quickening heart rate monitor for a moment. Was it normal for those to go so fast? "Alright…well, if you're that uncomfortable, I guess we can leave." Jane might have been the one in the hospital bed, but Derek was one of his best friends too, and if he wanted to go, Danny wouldn't argue with him.

***

When they finally got back to the car, Derek was exhausted. He was always thinking, always worrying about somebody finding out what he had done, and having to be in the same room as Jane certainly hadn't helped things.

But there was one exception—Spinner hadn't strangled him with his own hands upon his arrival, which meant Jane hadn't told him.

Whatever the case, he needed to escape his life for a while. As Sav turned up the volume of his truck's stereo, Derek took out his mp3 player, blasted his favorites playlist, and closed his eyes until the world around him disappeared.

***

It probably wasn't anything, but it was bothering him.

"Did you notice Jane's heart rate monitor?" Danny asked Sav, glancing behind them to see Derek with his headphones on.

"What about it?"

"It just seemed like it was beeping pretty fast."

Sav shrugged. "Maybe she was in a lot of pain or something?"

Danny hesitated. "I didn't notice it until Derek walked in the room," he said, lowering his voice a little.

Sav frowned. "You think it was because of _Derek_?"

"I don't know, man, think about it," Danny replied, replaying various scenes from the day in his mind. "He leaves the locker room, we hear a bunch of noises next door, and then he comes back. Then they find Jane unconscious?" He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "As much as I hate to say it, dude, I think…" He paused. "I think Derek might've been the one who attacked Jane."

Sav faced him now. "Are you serious? They're _teammates_, why would he do something like that?"

Danny shrugged. "I'm not sure, and I don't even know if I'm right. But if he didn't do it, the whole locker room thing is a pretty mad coincidence."

Sav was quiet for a moment. "Well, there are video cameras in the gym, and the police are going to investigate…so I guess we'll find out soon enough."

Danny nodded. Never in his life had he wanted so badly to be wrong.

***

Derek was playing his new PS3 racing game when there was a knock on his door the next day.

His heart nearly stopped beating. His mind went wild with possibilities of who could be on the other side of the door—if it was Spinner, he was dead. If it was the police, he was dead. If it was Jane…he didn't even know.

He put his hand on the cold metal knob and turned, hoping for the best, then let out a sigh of relief when he found that it was merely Danny.

"Hey, Man, what's up?" he greeted, initiating their traditional handshake and letting his anxiousness slip away. This was Danny, his best friend, and he had no reason to be nervous around him.

"Hey, Dude," Danny replied with a smile. "Mind if I come in?"

Derek moved aside and gestured for him to pass. "I was just playing my PS3. Wanna join?"

Danny hesitated. "Naw. I, uh…" He struggled to find the words. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Derek stopped in his tracks. "About what?"

Danny stared intently at the floor for a moment before finally met his friend's eyes. "What really happened in the locker room, Derek?"

A million alarms went off in his mind. He swallowed hard and tried to ignore his suddenly sweaty palms. "What d'you mean?"

Without warning, Danny grabbed Derek by his shirt collar and drove him backwards into the wall. "You know damn well what I mean. You go into the room with Jane and we hear a bunch of noises, then a couple hours later she's in the hospital from being _assaulted_?" He pushed against him even harder. "Tell me what you did!" he demanded through gritted teeth.

Derek was starting to have a hard time breathing. "I didn't do anything!" he insisted.

"Bullshit," Danny spat, then pressed his forearm against Derek's throat.

Derek's eyes widened in fear; he was barely getting any oxygen now. "We hooked up!" he finally blurted.

Danny released him and Derek doubled over, gasping for air. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Derek panted as he tried to catch his breath. "Me and Jane, we…I'm into her. I told her about my feelings a few weeks ago and we've been hooking up ever since." He took a couple of deep breaths. "Those sounds you heard were us screwing around."

Danny stared at his friend. "Jane's cheating on Spinner with you?"

Derek was silent for a long moment. He thought about the attack, about the hospital, about how dangerously close Danny had come to the truth.

"Yes."

**So... this is where I think things start to get complicated. Derek attacked Jane and Jane is currently too ashamed to admit it. Danny got too close to the truth so Danny lied to him about what happened. (Not sure why I felt like recapping there...?)**

**Anyways, thank you guys so much if you decided to forgive me for having such a huge time gap between chapters, and also if you decide to review. I hope you keep reading because I have at least one huge twist planned for the story. Wanna know what it is? I bet you do. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry I suck. I'm sorry I'm lazy. And I'm sorry I get super stuck with chapters sometimes. I just couldn't figure out where exactly I wanted to go with this one for the longest time, when I wanted to reveal certain things, etc. So here's an uber-apology from me to you, because I know you hate me for taking so goddamn long. Please don't take it out on the story though, 'kay? It might have taken forever, but I still worked hard on it. As always, let me know what you guys think.**

Broken ribs sucked.

This was the conclusion Jane came to as she tried to pull on her shirt as carefully as possible. Caution didn't seem to be helping, however, and no matter how slowly she moved, the left side of her torso all but burst into flames. As if that wasn't enough, the bruise on her back—also Derek's doing, ironically enough—was also giving her hell.

She finished with her shirt and sat down on the hospital bed; just putting on her clothes had exhausted her.

"Hey, Babe!" Spinner greeted as he entered the room, smiling as he gave her a brief kiss and handing her sneakers to her. "The doctor said you're good to go. Get your shoes on and we can get out of here."

She took the shoes and began the motion of bending down to put them on, but she winced and gritted her teeth as pain ripped through her torso. She relaxed for a moment and then tried once more, but dropped the shoe and clutched at her ribs.

Jane looked up at Spinner, who was gathering her things with his back to her.

"Spin?"

His head snapped up and a worried frown slowly appeared when he saw her hunched posture and her arm wrapped around her injury. He was at her side in a second. "Jane? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just…" She hesitated; she felt like a child asking him this, but there was no way she could do it on her own. "Can…can you put my shoes on for me?" she asked quietly, avoiding his eyes as she spoke.

He let out a small laugh. "Of course I will, Babe." He knelt on one knee and rested her foot on the other, gently slipping her shoes on one by one. When he was done tying the laces, he reached out and tilted her chin up. "Don't ever be ashamed of asking me to do something for you," he told her, looking her square in the eyes. "Jane, I would do _anything_ for you. Always remember that." He gently kissed her forehead and offered his hand. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

She gave him a small smile and let him help her off of the bed, then slowly lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Spin," she whispered, resting her head against his chest and closing her eyes.

It seemed like barely any time had passed before Jane felt herself being carried. She looked up to find that she was in Spinner's arms.

Above her, sky turned to ceiling and soon he was laying her on his couch. He knelt beside her, stroking her cheek. "How're you doing, Sleepyhead?" he asked, smiling.

Jane looked around with a slightly confused expression. "When did I fall asleep?"

"Pretty much as soon as I got you into the car. The doctor said your pain meds are gonna make you drowsy."

She forced her drooping eyelids open. "He wasn't kidding."

Spinner chuckled quietly and grabbed a blanket from a nearby armchair, draping it over her and turning off the lights. "Let me know if you need anything," he whispered before kissing her on the cheek, but by the time his lips connected with her skin, she was already out.

Jane had had nightmares before. Some about her dad, some about Lucas, and the rest usually being recurring dreams she'd had since she was little.

But this one was different. Somebody was pushing her against a wall, so hard that she couldn't move. She pushed and shoved back but nothing budged. Suddenly something slammed into her stomach, and soon she was falling, falling, falling. And then…_agony_.

She opened her eyes only to realize that she was stomach-down on the floor next to the couch she had been sleeping on. Her ribs were on fire; she grunted as she propped herself up on her elbows, slowly pushing herself up with one arm as she cradled her torso with the other.

She sat back on her legs, panting slightly as she hugged her ribs—they were nearly throbbing with pain. She waited for her breathing to settle then slowly picked herself up and headed down the hall to the bathroom.

Her eyes reprimanded her almost as much as her ribs when she turned on the light. As her pupils adjusted to the brightness and her reflection slowly came into focus, she saw for the first time what Derek had done to her.

She winced involuntarily as she studied the marks on her face; her right eye was surrounded by a dark puddle of blackish-blue and her cheek below was swollen into an angry red mound. Her fingers reached up to examine her split lip, but then her gaze slowly drifted down to settle on her torso.

A part of her begged and pleaded her hands to stop, but as if they had a mind of their own, they gripped the edge of her shirt and began to pull it up. Her pulse quickened; she was terrified of what she would find beneath the thin layer of cotton.

Suddenly sliver of inky blue came into view and for a moment she stopped. Did she really want to see the damage?

Finally she clenched her jaws and lifted her shirt all the way without stopping, as if she were ripping off a band-aid.

The bruise covered nearly half of her torso. Her breath hitched in her throat as she took it in, the massive blue-back shape sprawled across her skin. There were darker areas and lighter areas, almost like a one-dimensional storm cloud.

She stared at her ribs, stared long and hard, and her vision blurred as tears swam into her eyes. Through the fog she could see the wild rage on Derek's face when he had approached her in the locker room, see his fist clench as he prepared to strike, see his foot flying toward her face as she lay helplessly on the floor…

"Jane?"

She started, gasped, and yanked her shirt down all at once, sending her ribs into yet another fit. She turned to find Spinner standing in the doorway, his hair unkempt from sleeping and his eyes narrowed as he squinted into the bright room. From the look on his face, he knew what Jane had been looking at.

She wrapped her arms around her ribs and avoided his eyes; she didn't want him to notice the wetness in hers.

"Jane…are you okay?" he asked softly.

"I'm fine," she answered, but her voice shaky and forced.

She couldn't read his expression as he took a few steps toward her. "Can I—can I see?" he asked, extending a hand.

She immediately backed away, her heart racing.

"Jane, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you," Spinner assured her, but she took another step back and tried to ignore the hurt in his eyes.

She stared blankly at the floor and shook her head as a single tear trailed down her un-bruised cheek. "I—I can't. Please, just go. I don't want you to see." Her voice was trembling.

He nodded a couple times, avoiding her eyes, and finally turned away. "See you in the morning," he said quietly without looking back. And then he was gone.

She tried to steady her breathing, tried to calm down, but her body wasn't having it. She finally closed the door and turned off the lights then felt her way back to the sink. She stared into the darkness at the mirror that she knew was there but she couldn't see. She liked it this way, not being able to look at the ugly marks Derek had left on her.

But in the dark there was nothing to distract her from her thoughts, no sights to distract her from seeing the locker room, then the floor, then the blood…

She found the bathtub and stepped inside, drawing the shower curtain closed before lowering herself into the empty basin. She lay down and slowly rolled onto her bruised side. Her ribs screamed and tears fell as she squeezed her eyes shut, but she didn't switch to a more comfortable position.

Instead, she stayed like that, her torso burning dully, small sobs escaping from her throat one by one.

She was Jane Vaughn, a delusional teenage girl who had conned herself into thinking that she could take care of herself, that no one could hurt her. She was Jane Vaughn, who had a bruised face and two broken ribs because she had thought she could win a fight against a male football player.

She was Jane Vaughn, a stupid fucking idiot, and she deserved to be in pain.

**Also. I made this chapter a bit longer than the others to attempt to make up for the 10-year delay. Please forgive me? Or review? Preferably the latter.**


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